


Scare You Good, Make It A Real Fright Night

by 2queer4here



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Behavior, Comfort, Exploring, F/M, Fear, Paranormal, abandoned buildings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26637685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2queer4here/pseuds/2queer4here
Summary: Beetlejuice hadn’t wanted to go to the lab. He knew what kind of creatures hung out in there when the sun went down, but he’d been torn by his need to keep his Babes safe and the need to indulge in her whims by being the best thing in her life. So they went.OrBaby’s first time meeting something really paranormal.
Relationships: Beetlejuice/Lydia Deetz
Kudos: 21





	Scare You Good, Make It A Real Fright Night

**Author's Note:**

> Just to clarify: Lydia knows other paranormal beings exist she's just never seen one before.

It’s romantic; the dark walks through graveyards and asylums as the night comes alive with bumps and howls, screeches and moaning ghosts. They’ve gotten exploring down to a science and it’s so like them: creepy and lovely and just like with anything else they’re a good team. Lydia researches places to check out between her classes and Beetlejuice is the scariest thing she’s ever known besides Delia’s artwork, so he can protect her no matter what they find. He’s loathe to tell her any different. The thing about being the ‘most’ anything is that people tend to gravitate to you because of it, which is why Beetlejuice works so incredibly hard to be the _most_ fun guy in Lydia’s life, the _most_ adventurous, the _most_ scary- and he’s genuinely good at being all those things, but it helps that he has someone to impress now.

  
  
  


Beetlejuice hadn’t wanted to go to the lab. He knew what kind of creatures hung out in there when the sun went down, but he’d been torn by his need to keep his Babes safe and the need to indulge in her whims by being the best thing in her life. So they went.

  
  
  


In the dying light of the evening Lydia bundled up in a warm red hoodie, checked her bag which she had dubbed ‘their exploring kit’ when the whole thing first started, and called him out from the mirror where he was watching her with a strained smile. He would never admit that before she came home that day he had been stretching, willingly engaging in physical activity for the first time in… well, ever, considering he avoided it before he was a stiff. He was pretty sure he could lead her quietly, without incident, away from anything nasty before she stumbled upon something dead that wasn’t him, but just in case he couldn’t contain her curiosity he wanted to make sure he was limber enough to get Lydia out of the lab. No muscle cramps were going to keep him from doing his job! 

  
  
  


Beetlejuice let Lydia lead the way down her driveway, up sidewalks, and through woods. He floated behind her making the occasional off-colour joke while enjoying the sounds of her heavy boots crunching leaves beneath her imagining that tiny bugs were screaming at their homes being destroyed and their friends being smushed. _Lydia the destroyer_ he thought with amusement. 

  
  
  


“What kind of mad scientists abandon their lab anyways?” He asked.

  
  


“I don’t know.” Lydia chirped happily. “My research only said they left because of an explosion. They were scheduled to rebuild the area that was destroyed, but it never happened and nothing I read could tell me what they were actually doing in there.” Beetlejuice cocked his head thoughtfully. The living usually withheld information from each other if it was illegal or immoral. 

  
  
  


“Maybe they really were mad scientists! Bet we can find a two-headed snake slitherin’ around somewhere or a zombie!” 

  
  
  


Lydia laughed. Her voice in any form was a balm on his oozing aches and cracked crevices.

  
  
  


“Bj,” She drew out his nickname in mockery of a whine. “Two-headed snakes are natural. They’re perfectly normal, just different.” 

  
  
  


Beetlejuice listened to her smooth voice ignoring everything she said. Too nice for him.

  
  
  


“There it is!” Lydia pointed to a rather sad looking building ahead of them. Describe building. He knew instantly they shouldn’t be there, _Lydia_ shouldn’t be there. Something already called this place home, but he was flustered trying to come up with a valid excuse to whisk her away and she was already pulling his hand eagerly towards the entrance ignoring the caution tape and shattered glass. 

  
  
  


The pair stepped inside, Lydia minding where her feet landed, and were met with an intense chill. The wind picked up and blew a swirl of leaves down the empty corridor to their left. Peering down the long hall Beetlejuice couldn’t make anything out in the darkness though he could feel whatever had made this place it’s den was home. He reached out to nudge his girl’s shoulder and pointed to the hall on the right. “C’mon Babes let’s go this way.”

  
  
  


Lydia obliged and clicked on her flashlight to lead the way again. The walls were filled with graffiti with some of it being unfinished like someone stopped mid writing. The vibes of the place were spooky, which was fine by her though the temperature inside was cold. At the end were two doors.

  
  
  


One was off to the side and boasted nothing but a small bathroom with a broken mirror. “Hate to be trapped in that thing.” He cringed.

  
  
  


The other door was head on and Lydia opened it to reveal the actual lab part of the building. It was a decently sized room with long tables brimming with beakers, strange liquids, glass vials, metal tools for transport, notebooks filled with chicken scratch, a decontamination shower, an absurdly large trash bin, empty wire cages, and a chalkboard with safety protocols written neatly on one side. The wall opposite of the door showcased a window that almost overtook said wall that had been left unbroken and worked to keep the chill of the night out of the room. 

  
  
  


“Neat-o!” Lydia cheered. 

  
  
  


Beetlejuice searched along the walls and congratulated himself when he found a lightswitch. “Here comes the juice.” He warned.

  
  


The lights flickered on though they stayed dimmed, annoying but just enough to work with. He floated around poking his fingers into all the sludge, slime, and hazardous liquids left behind while keeping one eye and both ears on Lydia who made herself comfortable on a stool after gathering all the notebooks she could find. When she gave a displeased hum he stopped trying to drink the last of a vial of something rancid he sniffed out and went to her side. 

  
  
  


“What’s with the sad face, Babes?” 

  
  
  


“It looks like they were just experimenting on mice, poor things.”

  
  
  


Though he was certainly dead, Lydia's explanation and the generally poor timing the world had always bestowed upon him made the hair on the back of his neck and inside his nose stand up.

  
  
  


If the Living were playing with mice then where were the mice?

  
  
  


The cages were empty.

  
  
  


They should have been filled with tiny bones and little skeletons. His eyes swept over the room landing on the door that he’d shut behind them. The sliver of space where wood didn’t quite meet floor was filled with the dark of the night and one wide open, strained eye staring transfixed on Lydia Deetz. 

  
  
  


Beetlejuice had two options: he could pick Lyds up and crash through the window or he could wait and see how things played out. He briefly thought of trying to outscare the Other, but the way it focused solely on the only living thing in the joint told him that wouldn’t work. This thing was only interested in humans. If he took Lydia home now before she took her fill of the place he’d have her wraith to deal with. That would include days of being stuck in the Netherworld without his Babes, but she’d be home and alive unless she decided to make trouble and go back without him. On the other hand staying put her in danger though it would undoubtly keep her happy and keep him by her side. Decisions, decisions, and none of them right. 

  
  
  


Beetlejuice wrung his hands and stood on the ground in front of Lydia to block her from the evil eye. He would protect her, letting something hurt her wasn’t even an option. 

  
  
  


“This place blows,” She stopped to produce a crude fart sound from her mouth to make Beetlejuice laugh. “Let’s go home. I’ll make us hot chocolate with cool whip like you like.” She tempted. His eyes bulged as he fumbled for an excuse to stay.

  
  
  


“Uh, no!”

  
  
  


“No?” Lydia questioned watching his face start to sweat.

  
  
  


“I mean why leave now? We haven’t even checked out the vials!” _Yeah that’s it_ , he thought. He pulled one from his pocket and brought it up to her delicate nose. “This one smells like sulfur.” 

  
  
  


“Oh Beetlejuice!” Lydia shrieked, jumped off her stool, and ducked under his arm to get away from the awful stench. She pinched her nose closed with two fingers and tried to wave the lingering odor away with her hand. 

  
  
  


“Now I’ve really had enough of this place.” She made for the door and without thinking Beetlejuice dove for her. He aimed too low and got her legs instead almost bowling her over and she shrieked again. 

  
  
  


“What are you doing?!” She complained. Lydia tried trudging on despite the extra weight but even dead the man was heavy. 

  
  
  


“Aw Babes, just five more minutes!” Beetlejuice whined keeping his arms locked tight around his girl’s legs. He glanced nervously to the bottom of the door and was surprised to find nothing staring back.

  
  


The eye was gone.

  
  
  


Cautiously he let her escape him. Lydia threw him a curious look before flinging open the door. Nothing. They walked back the way they came in and were almost out of the building altogether until Lydia swore she saw something move to their left, down at the back of the other unexplored, dark hallway.

  
  
  


“C’mon,” She pleaded and pulled on Beetlejuice’s hand. Her hand was soft and warm as always and it made him feel like melted butter inside.

  
  
  


“Lyds, my eyes are _way_ better than yours and I didn’t see anything.” He lied. It was impossibly tall with an odd gait, long slender fingers tipped by claws, and wide alarming eyes. It looked passably human from far away, but too many wrong parts gave it away.

  
  
  


Lydia dragged him alongside her as she braved through the dark. He felt sick. The hallway ended in another door with faded lettering he couldn’t quite make out. Lydia pushed onward into the tiny room. It was mostly bare save for two round tables and a stack of chairs in one corner. On the counter lining one wall was a sink, microwave, and a half empty utensil jar. A mini fridge sat humming at the end of it. 

  
  
  


“Must have been their break room.” Lydia mused. 

  
  
  


“Okay now we’ve seen where nerds eat their sad salads and bologna sandwiches can we _please go_?” He whined. He scanned the room critically but didn’t find anything. 

  
  
  


“Yeah I guess.” 

  
  
  


He hated the dejected tone in her sweet voice, but what he hated even more was that her flashlight caught the exact thing he was trying to keep her from finding. Her breath hitched and she froze. Her pale skin went even paler and her forehead broke out in a sweat. The Other took a step closer to her and opened it’s mouth to reveal rows and rows of jagged, terrible teeth. Beetlejuice grabbed Lydia in his arms before she could scream and dashed out of the room, down the hall, through the door and into the woods again. Lydia twisted in her ghoul’s arms to look behind them. The definitely not-a-man who had struck her with terror stood a couple feet from the front door of the lab watching them. It lifted one of its arms and waved to her and Lydia felt something like despair overwhelm her.

  
  
  


She closed her eyes. 

  
  
  


When they got home Beetlejuice put her down in her bedroom and stepped back as if he was releasing a spider back outside. He could feel how fast her poor little human heart was beating as they fled though she was undoubtedly in shock. As soon as he stepped away Lydia started up like a wind-up toy pacing back and forth while fretting her hands. 

  
  
  


He got her a glass of water to struggle down when she started gasping for air and clawing at her own throat; but she could barely make herself drink so he rubbed her back gently until her breathing calmed down and she could speak again.

  
  
  


“Why wasn’t that _thing_ in the Netherworld?!” Lydia exclaimed, still distressed. 

  
  
  


“Think about it Babes: no space. If they were all at my place then the Netherworld would be just another can of sardines. Besides,” He paused and watched her paced debating on devuluging information for once. “They don’t go where we do when they die.” 

  
  
  


“What do you mean?” Lydia turned on her heel to growl at him and any other day that’d be a welcomed sight. 

  
  
  


“You gotta be human to go to the Netherworld after you croak.”

  
  
  


Her lips turned down and her eyes grew dark. “Will I go there when I die?” 

  
  
  


“Of course Babes! That’s a pretty stupid question for someone as smart as you,” He preened in the mirror slicking his hair back with a wad of spit and gave himself finger guns. “And I’ve already got pretty and stupid covered.” 

  
  
  


“What if there's a mix up? The Netherworld is run by paperwork filled out by people bored out of their minds just like the real world so what if someone who is supposed to be in the Netherworld stays here? And what if it happens to me?!”

  
  
  


“It won’t happen to you Lyds. Everyone who is in the Netherworld belongs there. Nobody in there decides if we belong or not, besides we’re different than those things.” 

  
  
  


“How so?”

  
  
  


“Babes, those things have never been human. They’re different. Others. They belong to the really bad place just the same as the best stiffs belong to their own place. The Netherworld is for all the gray area folks like myself.”

  
  
  


“What made you gray area before you died?” She asked sniffling.

  
  
  


“I went the same way you’ll probably go.” Beetlejuice answered breezily and Lydia glanced at her wrists. She nodded in understanding before flopping onto her bed. She had a lot to think about.

  
  



End file.
